Ethan’s jaw tightened.
“That’s temporary.”
“No. Temporary is one missed payment. This is a pattern.”
Then I showed him another number: his monthly debt payments consumed nearly half his take-home pay. He had not proposed a marriage budget. He had proposed using my housing costs to subsidize debts he had hidden.
He stood.
“You investigated me?”
“I verified the numbers you wanted me to marry.”
Denise laughed.
“Once you’re married, none of this matters. Couples help each other.”
There it was.
I looked at Ethan.
“Tell her.”
He said nothing.
So I played audio from my entryway camera two weeks earlier.
Denise’s voice filled the room.
“After the wedding, get your name on the condo. Then refinance. She won’t leave once there are kids.”
Ethan answered:
“Relax. Claire hates conflict. She’ll cave.”
The champagne bubbles hissed in the silence.
Denise stopped smiling.
Ethan stared at me like I had become someone else.
